“The wall was a mirror in which the two Germanys could see themselves.” Chapter 1: The Divided City The novel opens with an exploration of life in Berlin […]
French literature
The Little Communist Who Never Smiled
“She was a doll, a puppet, a little soldier. But she was also a child.” Prologue The novel opens with the introduction of Nadia Comăneci, the legendary Romanian […]
American literature
Underworld
“He speaks in your voice, American, and there’s a shine in his eye that’s halfway hopeful.” Prologue: The Triumph of Death (1951) The novel opens with the famous […]
American literature
Libra
“What has become unthinkable is the act not of destruction but of assent.” Part One: The Assassin The novel opens with Lee Harvey Oswald’s troubled childhood, marked by […]
English literature
Smiley’s People
“The secret services are the only real measure of a nation’s political health, the only real expression of its subconscious.” Chapter 1: The Call An elderly Russian émigré, […]
English literature
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
“What do you think spies are: priests, saints, and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists, and drunkards, people who play cowboys […]
English literature
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
“The secret services are the only real measure of a nation’s political health, the only real expression of its subconscious.” Chapter 1 George Smiley, a recently retired British […]